long-distance running

long-distance running, in athletics (track and field), footraces ranging from 3,000 metres through 10,000, 20,000, and 30,000 metres and up to the marathon, which is 42,195 metres (26 miles 385 yards). It includes cross-country races over similar distances. Olympic events are the 5,000- and 10,000-metre races, held on a track, and the marathon, contested on roads. Like the middle-distance races (800 and 1,500 metres in the Olympics), long-distance races are run at a strategic pace, but less seldom is a final spurt, or kick, needed by the winning racer.

Women rarely competed in races beyond 3,000 metres until the second half of the 20th century. The women’s 3,000-metre race and marathon were introduced to the Olympic Games in 1984. After 1992 the 3,000-metre race for women was discontinued, but the women’s 10,000- and 5,000-metre events were added in 1988 and 1996, respectively.